The present invention relates generally to puzzles, and more specifically, to puzzles comprising decoding lenses and encoded images. The puzzles form assembled decoded images from combination decoding lens/encoded image portions, and optionally unencoded image portions.
Jigsaw picture puzzles are well known in the entertainment, amusement and toy industry. There is always a demand for new, more challenging puzzles with enhanced aesthetic appeal to provide users with more entertainment.
Jigsaw picture puzzles generally form an assembled image from a group of puzzle pieces made from a sheet-like substrate. Each of the puzzle pieces has comprised a single image portion which appears the same no matter which angle the image portion is viewed from. By assembling the image portions in a predetermined pattern, a desired assembled image is formed.
None of the prior art puzzles have employed combination decoding lens/encoded image portions. None of the known puzzles include more than one image portion per puzzle section. Accordingly, the maximum number of image portions included in any of the known puzzles is equal to the total number of puzzle sections that comprise the puzzle. Moreover, once the pieces of a prior art puzzle have been assembled, they can only form a single 2-dimensional assembled image, i.e., an image without visual depth or motion. Thus, prior art puzzles become less entertaining to a user even after just one use.
Lenticular image products are well known. These products comprise an overlying lenticular lens that decodes an underlying lenticular image. By viewing the lenticular article in different positions, a viewer will see two or more different decoded lenticular images beneath the lenticular lens. Lenticular lenses affixed to respective substrates bearing respective lens-resolvable linear-patterned encoded images are commercially available. The lines from the patterned image must be in alignment with the lenticules of the lenticular lens in order to form a readily viewable resolved image. Known lenticular lens/patterned image-bearing substrate combinations have generally met this requirement by permanently affixing the substrate directly onto the back of the lenticular lens or by directly printing the patterned image onto the back of the lenticular lens.
Such substrates in combination with lenticular lenses are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,488,452 to Goggins, U.S. Pat. No. 5,568,313 to Steenblik et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,543,964 to Taylor et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,461,495 to Steenblik et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,935,335 to Fotland, U.S. Pat. No. 4,082,433 to Appledorn et al., U.S. Pat. No. 3,937,565 to Alasia, U.S. Pat. No. 3,538,632 to Anderson, and U.S. Pat. No. 3,119,195 to Braunhut, the disclosures of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety.
To date, decoding, lenses have not been incorporated into a puzzle. It would be preferred to have a puzzle that has a greater number of image portions than it has of puzzle sections thereby increasing the number of assembled images that can be formed by the puzzle without increasing the number of puzzle sections in the puzzle. By incorporating combination decoding lens/encoded image portions into a puzzle, the number of assembled images that can be formed by the puzzle is significantly increased when compared to a similar puzzle not having these portions. A puzzle of this preferred construction would have improved versatility and would provide more entertainment than known puzzles. It would also be preferred to have puzzles including pieces whose observed image portion changes upon viewing from different angles, thereby significantly increasing the level of difficulty of the puzzle and providing a means by which plural 2-dimensional, true 3-dimensional or action sequence images can be formed. There is no teaching or suggestion in the art of the invention as described and claimed herein.
The present invention provides a picture puzzle having many novel and entertaining aspects and features. One aspect of the invention provides a multi-piece picture puzzle which forms two or more assembled images when the pieces are assembled. In this embodiment, the invention provides a picture puzzle comprising:
plural puzzle pieces, at least one piece of which bears one or more combination decoding lens/encoded image portions, wherein one, two or more assembled images are formed when the puzzle pieces are assembled.
Another aspect of the invention provides a multi-piece picture puzzle comprising:
plural puzzle pieces, at least one piece of which bears one or more combination decoding lens/encoded image portions, wherein the combination decoding lens/encoded image portion comprises at least two source images and two or more assembled images are formed when the puzzle pieces are assembled.
While some embodiments of the invention provide an asymmetrically shaped puzzle, other embodiments provide a symmetrically shaped puzzle. Still other embodiments of the invention provide a puzzle shaped as a circle, triangle, oval, square, rectangle, pentagon, parallelogram, hexagon, heptagon, octagon, multi-sided polygon having nine or more sides, a three- to twenty-pointed star, cross or profile of a person, place or thing.
In preferred embodiments, the puzzle pieces can be assembled correctly in more than one manner to form the two or more assembled images; the puzzle further comprises retaining means which maintain the pieces of the puzzle adjacent one another; the puzzle comprises at least two puzzle pieces; each of at least a majority of the puzzle pieces bears one or more combination decoding lens/encoded image portions; the decoding lenses are oriented differently or the same relative to one another when the puzzle is assembled; their are two or more different types of decoding lenses; each puzzle piece has an upper and lower surface and one or more of the puzzle pieces includes one or more combination decoding lens/encoded image portions on each surface; one or more puzzle pieces are edible or made from comestible materials; the puzzle pieces are flexible, semi-rigid or rigid; or different assembled images can be observed by viewing the assembled puzzle from different angles.
The assembled images can include text, graphics, colored patches, buildings, people, animals, food, toys, weapons, machinery, caricatures, fanciful figures, logos, letters, spaceships, and air, land or water borne vehicles, geometric patterns, irregular shapes, 2-dimensional images, 3-dimensional images or action sequence images, i.e. any image imaginable.
Edible materials can include, for example, decoding lens that comprise a substantially transparent candy material, a flexible or rigid material containing juice syrup or residue, a carbohydrate, a sweetener, an edible polymer, or other flavored and/or nutritious material.
Yet another aspect of the invention provides a method of preparing a picture puzzle comprising one or more combination decoding lens/encoded image portions, the method comprising the steps of:
1) providing a sheet type substrate;
2a) placing an encoded image portion on one or more sections of the substrate and superposing each of the encoded image portions with a respective decoding lens that decodes the encoded image portion to form a puzzle master; or
2b) attaching a preformed decoding lens bearing one or more encoded image portions on one of its surfaces to the substrate such that the encoded image portions are between the substrate and the lens to form a puzzle master; and
3) cutting the puzzle master into a plurality of puzzle pieces.
The method of the invention can further comprise one or more of the following steps:
a) repeating step 1) one or more times;
b) repeating step 2a) one or more times;
c) repeating step 2b) one or more times;
d) placing one or more image portions that are not encoded on the sheet or the decoding lens;
e) providing one or more additional substrates;
f) packaging the puzzle into a container;
g) preassembling the puzzle; or
h) providing retaining means for the puzzle.
The method of the invention can be performed on conventional equipment already used in the printing, puzzle and/or lenticular products industries.
Another embodiment of the invention provides a method of preparing a picture puzzle comprising one or more combination decoding lens/encoded image portions, the method comprising the steps of:
1) providing a section of sheet type substrate;
2a) placing an encoded image portion on the section and superposing each of the encoded image portions with a respective decoding lens that decodes the encoded image portion to form a combination decoding lens/encoded image portion; or
2b) attaching a respective decoding lens bearing one or more encoded image portions on one of its surfaces to the section such that the encoded image portions are between the section and the decoding lens to form a combination decoding lens/encoded image portion; and
3) optionally repeating steps 2a) or 2b) one or more times to provide one or more different combination decoding lens/encoded image portions.
The decoding lens section and encoded image portion can be attached to one another in an offset manner to form an xe2x80x9coverhanging puzzle piecexe2x80x9d comprising a combination decoding lens/encoded image portion having a portion of the decoding lens extending beyond the edge of the encoded image portion and a portion of the encoded image portion extending beyond the edge of the decoding lens.
Accordingly, another aspect of the invention provides a puzzle comprising:
two or more overhanging puzzle pieces comprising a combination decoding lens/encoded image portion and having a decoding lens overhang extending beyond the edge of the encoded image portion and an encoded image portion overhang extending beyond the edge of the decoding lens, wherein the puzzle is assembled by placing the decoding lens overhang of a first overhanging puzzle piece over the encoded image overhang of one or more other overhanging puzzle pieces to form at least one assembled image.
This aspect of the invention can comprise overhanging puzzle pieces which can overhang, or mate with, one, two or at least three other overhanging puzzle pieces and can further comprise retaining means which keep adjacent overhanging puzzle pieces. The decoding lens overhang will preferably decode the encoded image of at least one encoded image overhang of a mating puzzle piece, and/or the encoded image of an encoded image overhang will be decodable by at least one decoding lens overhang.
Other features, advantages and embodiments of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art by the following description, accompanying examples and appended claims.